Electrochemical impedance spectroscopic study of passive zirconium

Spent, unreproccessed nuclear fuel is generally contained within the operational fuel sheathing fabricated from a zirconium alloy (Zircaloy 2, Zircaloy 4, or Zirlo) and is then stored in a swimming pool and/or dry storage facilities until permanent disposal in a licensed repository. During this period, which begins with irradiation of the fuel in the reactor during operation, the fuel sheathing is exposed to various, aggressive environments. The objective of the present study was to characterize the nature of the passive film that forms on pure zirconium in contact with an aqueous phase [0.1 M B(OH)3 + 0.001 M LiOH, pH 6.94] at elevated temperatures (in this case, 250 °C), prior to storage, using electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) with the data being interpreted in terms of the point defect model (PDM). The results show that the corrosion resistance of zirconium in high temperature, de-aerated aqueous solutions is dominated by the outer layer. The extracted model parameter values can be used in deterministic models for predicting the accumulation of general corrosion damage to zirconium under a wide range of conditions that might exist in some repositories.